LCVP / Higgins Boats - Guide 386

[@Drachinifel]

Pinned post for Q&A :)

[@WarrantOfficerWill22]

Had Saukko not been as unreliable, would the germans have gone ahead with building more 100 ton rail-transportable subs? And if so, what would have been the consequences of such a decision?

[@bkjeong4302]

Did the Japanese ever try coming up with something like the Fritz X, excluding use of human pilots as guidance systems?

[@WALTERBROADDUS]

​@@bkjeong4302good question. But I think they decided to skip on the electronics. And just use a happy volunteer. Kind of speeds the whole development thing.

[@khaelamensha3624]

I am quite sure some of them have been used in Dinassaut (Divisions navales d assaut) the French brown navy during the Indochina war.

[@connormclernon26]

Will we be getting a guide on the USS Gyatt? Gearing class destroyer, built at the end of ww2. First guided missile destroyer in the US Navy, participated in the Mercury Program, she led an interesting if short life

[@cartmann94]

“Armor came in two flavors: Thoughts and prayers and Hopes and dreams”. Here’s your Drachnifelian quote of the week.

[@TheArchemman]

This part lol

[@khaelamensha3624]

And what quote! Drachisms are just... So great!

[@joetrela8408]

Do I detect Undertale vibes? ("Hopes and Dreams" is the name of one of the boss fight themes)

[@hattrick8684]

It’s the stuff like this that really got me when I found this channel so many years ago. Theres tonnes of history channels out there… but not many deliver such great dry wit.

[@phil4483]

When Victor Krulak, the Marine officer who saw the boats the Japanese were using, he sent a photo and details to the Navy's BuShips. He found the file later, with a note from a Naval officer that it came from "Some nut in China". Hence the unofficial visit to Andrew Higgins. Krulak was a very interesting man, retired with 3 stars and lived to see his son become Commandant of the Marine Corps.

[@Hohum37]

1:45 Spotted: Jack Churchill storming a beach holding a broadsword.

[@khaelamensha3624]

Holy crap! Thanks for the comment! No need to go seeing your ophtalmologist this year sir😉

[@silverjohn6037]

Drachinifel is able to get some classic images in his videos. At 1:00 is the famous painting (in Canada at least;) of the Battle of the Plains of Abraham which led to the capture of Quebec City and eventually New France as a whole by the British.

[@davidbarton8012]

I thought that was him. Thanks for confirming

[@PalleRasmussen]

@@davidbarton8012 if you do a picture search, it will turn up as nr 5 or so.

[@nvelsen1975]

Absolute madlad and the only one willing to stand up to British command during the Hadassah Medical Convoy Massacre.

[@simonolsen9995]

Wandering on the coral at low tide on Saipan back in the 80's and there were these lonely, sad, rusted and encrusted little engines blocks wedged into the reef. All that was left.

[@Retireddriver]

Don't forget the Marines had to walk in a long way during the landing on Tarawa also under fire

[@PalleRasmussen]

@@Retireddriver I believe that is his point

[@kennethdeanmiller7324]

I've heard that during the D-Day landings that the Coast Guard would go around & pick up survivors of any boats that got sunk. I wonder if they did the same for landings in the Pacific?

[@Tomyironmane]

@@kennethdeanmiller7324 His name is Douglas Munro. Look him up.

[@stevewindisch7400]

My great uncle was a crewman on LCVP Higgins boats for several combat assaults including Saipan. He started out in a transport working in the boiler rooms where temperatures often exceeded 120 degrees F. He got in a fist fight with a bullying petty officer, and was transferred to the LCVP's as punishment. He was very reluctant to talk about his experiences, his sons said he never did. I asked him about it many times and once when in his cups, he told me. Sometimes, he had to pull a .45 pistol and threaten to shoot scared boys who refused to leave the boat at the beach. He said that more than once, he saw those same boys killed immediately after. He also personally witnessed the horrors at the cliffs at Saipan where hundreds of civilians were either murdered by Japanese troops or committed suicide. My grandmother told me, that for 6 months after returning home he would continually wave an arm in front of his face as if swatting away insects. He used to enjoy sailing on Lake Erie with my grandparents as a youth but never got in a boat again after the war. If any of us bought a Japanese car or motorcycle... The cold look they got was epic. He gave me his "1941 Bluejackets Manual", which I cherish.

[@phil4483]

What a great gift, it's fortunate you had the insight to ask him about his time.

[@myparceltape1169]

There was a man living near me who knew the state of the prisoners returned after the war. He said that he would never buy a Japanese car but about 20 or 30 years later he did.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Thanks to your great uncle for his service. Thank you for asking him about it and sharing the story with us. I cannot imagine the horror of having to threaten a man with a gun to get the hell off the boat and onto the beach, and then see that same man killed moments later. You know rationally it was the enemy that killed him, but emotionally, that can be difficult to accept.

[@prussianhill]

Thanks for sharing. My grandfather was an LCVP crewman; though I believe he was assigned there off the bat. He never talked much about experiences, even when asked. From what I gather, his experiences were probably similar to what your great uncle went through, which may explain his preference for silence. Not only would the crews deliver the Marines to the beaches, they evacuated the wounded from the beaches. The only story I was able to piece together was that my grandfather's boat dropped Marines off at the USS Comfort right before she was struck by a Kamikaze off Okinawa. I can only imagine what it would've been like to evacuate the wounded Marines he had just delivered. Along with a fresh cargo of wounded surgeons and nurses.

[@Legitpenguins99]

Did he start to open up towards the end of his life once significant time had passed? My great grandfather was very heavily scared with PTSD from being a foward observer in Europe. He wouldn't speak a word of it for decades but once he got into his late 70's and 80's and he could cope better with his feelings we got him to tell us what he remembered so we could record it before it was too late. Granted, by then I wouldn't trust them to be overly accurate since it had been probably over 60 years and he wasn't fully with it anymore

[@Big_E_Soul_Fragment]

Not as exciting as a battleship or a carrier but its contribution to victory is always appreciated.

[@sib183]

i want to know more about the transporters that brought them in range of the beach and dropped them to go pick up soldiers from the other transports. it is all interconnected, there are turtles all the way down.

[@kevdupuis]

Oh I don't know, it was probably quite exciting"read terrifying) going ashore in one while under fire or moderate seas. 🤢

[@leonmusk1040]

@@sib183 They had a big mobile staging ship that used linked pontoon bridges at one stage to help pretty sure drach did a video about it :)

[@ownpetard8379]

My understanding is that typically they were crewed by US Coast Guard men, at least for US Navy operations, including Normandy and central Pacific. I think Gen Eisenhower said that the Higgins boat was one of the key equipment that won the war.

[@JayRock907]

Literally the boat that turned the tide of the war(s)

[@jollyjohnthepirate3168]

My dad was a combat infantryman in the Pacific during WW2. He said you get into a landing craft by climbing down a cargo net. You time steping off with the swell. You also stand up wind if possible because of sea sickness in others. The LCVPs go into a circling formation, waiting for the signal to go. Once the order is given all the boats head in at once. The boats land you then return back to the ship to pick up the next wave of soilders. Eventually they start carrying wounded men back to the ship and bringing ammo and supplies ashore.

[@mikeholton3914]

the movie "Away All Boats" has some actual footage of this type of maneuvering (and a cameo appearance by an extremely young Clint Eastwood. pretty good flik.

[@petesheppard1709]

Yes, illustrated in a lot of WWII movies. Climbing down those nets, in full combat gear, had to be nerve-wracking; if you fell into the water, you went straight to the bottom, and injuries from badly timed jumps into the boat could be severe.

[@johnmcdonough5991]

My father was in the 43 Signal Company, 43 Infantry Division. One the few stories he told about the war was climbing down the cargo net on an ink black night off Rendova Island loaded with weapons and rudimentary communication gear (his little group was to go ashore just behind/with the assault group). When he got to the bottom of the net there was nothing there, just water. A voice called out from the darkness to climb back up the ladder so "he" could bring the boat in again hard and hopefully keep it close to the ship. The memory of that climb and the loud "clang" of the boat against the ship stayed vivid in his memory for the next 70 years.

[@AdmRose]

Never understood why the military thought it was a good idea to feed a huge meal to men before they boarded what amounted to a cork bobbing in the water. Sea sickness cost more than a few lives during landings.

[@keefymckeefface8330]

@@AdmRose That meal might be last hot meal for- days, if not just the last one of all. And is LONG military tradition that armies march on their stomach... yes, some might be seasick, BUT- the rest would be full up, and ready to march and fight for 24 hrs.

[@westcoastcruiseshipstrains7946]

The second smallest vessel he’s done. Who here remembers the classic: “Ugg Guide to Floaty Log”? Haha! One of his great April 1 videos.

[@frankbarnwell____]

The Italians, RN and Japanese had smaller submarines.

[@GearGuardianGaming]

still waiting on his video about the worlds smallest (and most adorable) naval tugboat

[@bigblue6917]

LVTs were used by British troops during the Suez Crisis. The troops in one such craft found their LVT was moving ahead of the others and wondered why. It was not until the LVT got on land and came under fire that they discovered why it moved so fast. It turned out the crew had removed the LVTs armour in order to get ashore quicker. So once on land thoughts and prayers and hopes and dreams was all the armour they had.

[@Perfusionist01]

Very nicely done! A WW2-vintage LCVP is currently being restored for the Nebraska National Guard Museum in Seward NE. We are about as far from the ocean as one can get in the USA, but Higgins was born in Columbus, NE and he is regarded as a native son.

[@dclark142002]

The memorial there is really well done.

[@ROBERTNABORNEY]

At 1-46 is a famous picture of Major Jack Churchill leading his commando unit - brandishing his sword like a proper officer and gentleman. In early Thirties he was bored with peace time soldiering, so resigned his commission, learned swordsmanship, taught himself archery and took himself off to Hollywood., where he made a living in the costume dramas of the period. He was a world class archer nd represented Britain in the World Archery Championships in the late Thirties. When war broke out, he was welcomed back into the Army and deployed with his regiment to France. During the retreat to Dunkirk, he encountered a German patrol and skewered the patrol leader with a shot from his bow, leading to a panic and retreat among the Huns. Th0is is probably the last time the Great English Bow has appeared in combat. He once told his commanding officer that any officer who went into combat without his sword was not properly dressed and was out of uniform.

[@JD-tn5lz]

As the nephew of a WW2 US Coastguardsmen, I thank you. And as a rural Alaskan, I'd like to remind all that the brethern of these are still in service.

[@SynchroScore]

I found one that was used as a ferry to Mackinac Island, used to bring in construction equipment.

[@wfwillis]

My second ship was the USS Bexar APA-237 Amphibious Attack Transport, 1967-68. We carried 18 LCVPs, and as an ETN2 I worked on the radios in the boats and shipboard electronics (communications and radar). When the Pueblo was taken by North Korea in Jan 1968 the Bexar sailed from Sasebo Japan to SKorea and we did beach landing exercises with the ROK Marines. I had to ride an LCVP to keep the radio operational and it was the coldest place I've ever been!!! CWO4 USN Ret.

[@JD-tn5lz]

Bwahahaha. Folks have no idea how the salt air of the Northern Pacific can melt the heat right out of the body. If you think that was bad, come join us on the Bering Sea coast of Alaska😁

[@leftyo9589]

we carried them on newport class lST's into the 90's.

[@RCAvhstape]

@@JD-tn5lz The North Atlantic above the Arctic Circle in January is also quite brisk, as I've found.

[@Paludion]

3:30 "- You know, I feel particularly flammable today." "- Petrol engine then ?" "- Yes please."

[@johnbuchman4854]

Petrol engines for Operation Torch, right?

[@JTA1961]

I gas so...

[@christopheryoung3356]

My dad was with the US Army's 339th Harborcraft Marine Maintenance Company in the Korean War. While he didn't talk much about the war, one of the things he did say was since the US had been downsizing the military since WW2 ended, they were dragging old LCVPs off of beaches from landings in WW2 and trying to put them back into service. Exposure to seawater over 5 or 6 years had taken its toll and you could easily put your foot right through the deck of a lot of these craft, so his unit was busy just trying to get them back afloat. Among the photos he took while in the service is an old beached LCVP.

[@pattheriot3963]

Thanks for taking on this topic! My grandfather was a mail man in the US Navy during the war in the Pacific but he was driving these boats delivering troops for the retaking of the Philippines.

[@petergreen9322]

Anyone else never skip the intro because they enjoy it so much ?

[@simonolsen9995]

I miss the old music.

[@TheEDFLegacy]

​@@simonolsen9995 Me too. I hate copyright trolls. 😢

[@garydubose7067]

My dad drove one of these at the tender age of 17. He would have been involved in the invasion of Japan had it come to that. As it was, he used these to ferry troops from ship to shore as they returned from the war on the big ships. We did a lot of fishing when I was young and I always admired his boathandling skills.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Thanks to your father for his service. Thanks for sharing your family memories.

[@amerigo88]

Even this small, wooden vessel can't be fit into a "five minute video." Never change, Drachinifel! Been following you since the bad old AI voiced video days maybe 10 years ago.

[@williamerickson1238]

Up through at least the 1990s the US Navy used the LCI and LCVP as harbor and utility craft at anchorages and more remote sites such as Holy Loch Scotland, La Madelena Italy and Guam. In Holy Loch it was the only means back and forth to the ship anchored about 1000 yards off the end of a small pier. Made that trip many times.

[@JD-tn5lz]

Great video and thank you. As the nephew of a WW2 Coastie and as a prior US Marine (long after ww2) I appreciate it. So many folks see the carriers, cruisers, and battleships as more exciting. No. It's one thing to hide behind armor and big guns and a whole other matter to ride into guns on a slow wooden box. These craft held more heroes and brave men than any navy knew they had.

[@Rickkennett143]

The wreck of a Higgens boat emerged from Lake Mead in the US as the water dried up.

[@JD-tn5lz]

I've seen a few of these and their brethren still at work here in AK.

[@prussianhill]

Hopes and Dreams brought by grandfather into and away from the Pacific landings as an LCVP crewman (machine gunner). Thanks for covering the humble LCVP drach!

[@JD-tn5lz]

Between their crews and their passengers those LCVPs held more valor than any aircraft carrier.

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Thanks to your grandfather for his service. Thanks for sharing.

[@CrayonosaurusRex]

Some of my friends got to ride in them for a ceremony in South Korea, on the anniversary of the Incheon landings, my company sent a platoon of guys to do what they thought was just like a parade or something, but it was a very condensed reenactment of the landings with RoK troops and them packed into Higgins Boats, storming the beach and then marching in a small parade

[@therealuncleowen2588]

I'd just like to say thank you to Andrew Higgins for designing and building the first of these boats with his own funds, without a contract, at the request of a single Marine officer. That was, in part, an act of great patriotism typical of the WW2 era. 🇺🇸 Now yes, he won the contract and made money on the deal, but he could just as likely have taken a complete loss on the effort. In the end, his boats were excellent at the task they were built for. Without such a boat, all the Allied amphibious landings would have been much more difficult.

[@oldmandan4244]

Thanks for covering the Higgins boat. I have often thought about asking you to cover this excellent craft and all the other amphibious vessels developed during WW2. However, since I know you are always busy with all kinds of plans for future, I left it alone. I am a retired Marine in my 60's. I am also a senior in college majoring in Atlantic and Maritime History. One of my first major projects was on Higgins and the development of this craft. Thanks for the great stuff you do.

[@AMX86]

My Dad was a bo'sun for the US NAVY (1939-1946). Served aboard the USS President Adams, USS Fomahault and USS Randall. He sailed his LCVP at Guadalcanal in the main landings.

[@su8pack13]

My second cousin piloted one on D-Day, and made two beach drops before getting blown out of the water on his return for his 3rd load . He spent 2 days in the water and was in the hospital until 1947.

[@tltc191]

My Dad was in the USN during WW2 and was a machine gunner on a LCVP. Thanks for showing these!

[@therealuncleowen2588]

Thanks to your father for his service. Thank you for sharing.

[@Ryuko-T72]

When I was younger, I would watch a lot of stop motion lego videos. One subsection of this was WW2 videos. I have made, probably around 5 different variations of these boats, with my last using up all of the black lego pieces I had. These ships carry a special place in my heart because of that time :)

[@johnwelch6490]

I owned a 1946 Higgins Camper and in a farmers field in Marysville, Ohio lies a Higgins boat.

[@fredericksorrels970]

The US National WW2 Museum in New Orleans is on the site of Andrew Jackson Higgins factory where they were invented and many built. Highly recommended if in NO.

[@caleblim6890]

I spent a year and a half onboard my country’s LSTs, and spent quite a bit of time working the welldock (edit: and boat davit) ropes for my country’s landing craft, which still bear a clear resemblance to their long-ago predecessors. Really interesting to see the origin of these craft concepts!

[@SteamCrane]

A few years ago, a guy brought his WW-II LVT-4 to an equipment show, and was giving rides in a large lake at the bottom of a hill. I was on top of the hill, about 1/4 mile away, and was disturbed to realize how easily I could keep my telephoto trained on the LVT, even after I zoomed in tight. Sitting ducks.

[@neilwilson5785]

The D-Day museum at Portsmouth has excellent landing craft, tanks etc. Well worth a visit. The Royal Marines museum and Naval gunnery museums are in the area too, so great for a weekend visit.

[@robcrane3512]

The Royal Marines Museum has now closed - the National Museum of the Royal Navy has inherited the collection and is trying to raise the funds to reopen it within Portsmouth Historic Dockyard.

[@danieldougherty6779]

Served on LST 1197 (Barnstable County) 1974-77 and we had 3 of them. I was one of the coxswains on board.

[@mastathrash5609]

Thank you for covering small boats, it's not a topic that's usually talked about in depth other than the standard PT boat stories. I've always been extra curious about River and brown Water Naval actions. Please do more on small boats. And thank you for all you do!

[@AptWaffleMantis2278]

So early, dreadnought is still being built Also the commentary on this episode was top of the line, well done.

[@Tony-es9jx]

Fun fact, my hometown built and/or tested roughly 40% of all Landing Craft for the Second World War. Including almost 9,000 LCVPs

[@haroldhenderson2824]

Bigger than a row boat, smaller than a cargo barge. Shallow draft (Normandy beach was a very low (long) slope. However, just as capable of approaching a cliff. The arrangement of the propeller shaft (protected by the keel and the rudder) allowed the boat to be beached, then reversed off by itself once unloaded.

[@dclark142002]

I still remember riding one of these as a regular passenger ferry on Lake Michigan to get to an island off the Door peninsula. It rolled so much I have confirmed I would almost never get sea sick!

[@JasperFromMS]

The diesel was powered by the marine version of the Detroit 6-71, a remarkable engine. Our city had a 1980 American LaFrance fire engine with that same motor that I used to drive. Those engines could be made in almost infinite varieties with number of cylinders, rotation, straight or V, all up to the user. Two of them were combined to power the M4A2 Shermans. Smaller versions are powering M113s all over the world today. They all sound the same.

[@robertthweatt1900]

Believe 6-71 also used in Valentine tank, hence its reputation for reliability. M-113:engine IIRC 6V-53, not 71, Detroit Diesel, also the Bradley initially.. 71s were still being produced for gensets until 2000 or so. Largest was 24 V-71, 1000kW.

[@JasperFromMS]

@@robertthweatt1900 correct, the M-113 is powered by the -53. I think the Landing Craft, Infantry was powered by some form of Detroit Diesel

[@JoshuaTootell]

My first ship, a 180' Buoy Tender, had 4 6-71's. Two with turbos for generators, one as an emergency generator/hydraulic pump, and one as a bow thruster. Great engines.

[@JasperFromMS]

@@JoshuaTootell was that a USCG buoy tender or commercial ?

[@andrewflindall9048]

As far as I'm aware, the first significant order of Eurekas was for the fledgling British Commandos. These were substantially modified to suit Channel conditions and no doubt cost us an arm and a leg. These were known as Eurekas and R-Boats before being classified as LCPL (UK). The Commandos being an Army thing, I'm not clear whether the Eurekas were ordered in ignorance of the existence of the LCA, or because there weren't enough LCA available. I'd lean towards the latter as the modified wide gunwhales were very LCA-like. Between LCPL (US) and LCVP was the LCV. This had the coxswain's position up on the rear deck (like a mini LCM(3)). The big disadvantage of the sticky-up bit was it prevented the LCVs stacked on the davits, hence the cockpit being move into the load area of the LCVP. The LCPR appears to have been a US Navy initiative inspired, I'd say, by the LCA with its semi-protected exit and forward gun tubs. I know ChrisCraft got the contract and there may have been others, but Higgins backed his own LCV/LCVP and outproduced the competition.

[@umad42]

My local power utility uses the larger landing craft to move maintenance crews and their trucks around on the river to get to pylons in hard to reach areas on islands and close to the dams. Was kind of wild the first time I patrolled one of the boat moorages and saw a WWII surplus LVT just sitting in the water at the dock.

[@stevebarrett9357]

Your mention of the LCPL got me looking for additional info. The picture suggested that the men would line up on a starboard side 'ramp', head forward and jump off the bow one at a time. Another copy of this image that I found suggested it was marines landing at Guadalcanal. This image correlates with what my Dad said about his landing in North Africa, i.e., you exited the boat one at a time off the bow. When I worked on the computer systems of the LHD, I saw how far we had progressed in amphibious landing techniques in 40 years.

[@garygreen7552]

I was on a LST in the late 60's that had three LCVP's. We referred to them as "Papa" boots, using the radio phonetic word for the letter "P." We used them for carrying personnel from the ship to shore when we were anchored out. Unexciting but useful. Our boats were made of wood. However, I believe that some of the later boats were made of fiber-glass.

[@Squirrel4361]

4:06 "thoughts and prayers, or hopes and dreams..." you're killing me, man! 🤣🤣

[@tobiasGR3Y]

Argueably one of most underrated ship/boat/craft/floaty-thing of the entire war. Bringing foot-sloggers like myself to water-ways and beaches far and wide.

[@reidweber9560]

Grandfather was a coastie and drove Higgins boats from the Joseph Dickman PA 13. The one great side view of a loaded Higgins was from his ship and I wish we knew what the number is of the Higgins behind, as one of those two crewmen could be him. Grandpa never told me much, but he would say he could honestly say he was shot at by the French, Germans, and Japanese as his first action was Casablanca, then Salerno, then Normandy before heading to the Pacific. He also told me that because no one was comfortable crossing the Atlantic on troop ship 13, they added a 1 to make it 131 unofficially. If they would have diagnosed it in the 40's, he would have officially had PTSD from the experience...never gave any details from any landings.

[@gbcb8853]

Away All Boats. Great LCVP movie starring Jeff Chandler. Also a bestselling book.

[@DanielHammersley]

Short & sweet. Like the boat itself. Brilliant!

[@ditzydoo4378]

Amazing enough, our local museum, Estella Warbirds Paso Robles, CA. has a complete and original Higgens boat on display. It's an All-service Museum that specializes in airpower.

[@keithdubose2150]

Worth stopping ny the WWIi museum in New Orleans.. nice exhibit on the Higgins boats, Higgins himself and his design/manufacturer facilities/workforce

[@robertthweatt1900]

The historian Stephen Ambrose, who wrote Band of Brothers, taught at the University of New Orleans, I remember he was a great admirer of Higgins, thought it shameful he was starved of capital after the war.

[@Nant_Ysgallen]

There's one of these that goes around the canals and river in Nottingham, my main impression is how loud it is. No way you could sneak up to a beach in it.

[@Easy-Eight]

Love to own one in very good condition. They can make a more than fair living shuttling cargo & construction supplies along the shores of the Great Lakes. Also, they *love* being yanked out of the water during the winter season so regular maintenance can be done. BTW, Drach, diesel or gas don't matter much if an explosive shell were to hit a landing craft.

[@sven-erikviira1872]

Clear the ramp! 30 seconds. God be with you.

[@Squirrel4361]

3:34 "if you particularly like being set on fire..." hysterical 😂

[@HMSFord]

I like it when you give attention to the smaller, more mundane generic type of vessel. They're just as important as the larger floating things IMO.

[@TanksForTheMammeries]

My mom bought a surplus LCM about 35 years ago to be used as a ferry on the gulf coast of Florida, and it's still in service to this day.

[@johnnash5118]

This would be a great June 6th video. I would vote that landing as the iconic photo of WWII.

[@seanmcateer7982]

Thank you, as always.

[@gordonwallin2368]

Cheers from the Pacific West Coast of Canada.

[@r2crowseye]

"Armor came in two flavors, Thoughts and Prayers or Hopes and Dreams." 💀🤣🤣🤣

[@frankgulla2335]

Thanks, Drach. Great insight to the LCPV

[@BruceK10032]

Great job! I never had any idea the LCVP was inspired by the Daihatsu!

[@AdamosDad]

Very similar to the LCM-8 ("Mike Boat") a river boat and mechanized landing craft that we used in Vietnam and as liberty boats else were.

[@jasondclark]

My grandfather piloted one in Guadalcanal, earned his first purple heart there.

[@rkarnes6304]

Funny, I was just about to ask Drach to do one on landing craft through the ages...

[@Sublette217]

I wish you had mentioned the competition the Navy was forced to conduct pitting the Higgins design against their own ungainly in-house design, which, as we know, the Higgins boat bested easily.

[@launcesmechanist9578]

There’s a lumber mill close to Alexandria here in Louisiana that made Higgins Boats. It’s now a museum and they’re working on trying to get the mill railroad restored and back to working order.

[@johnfisher9692]

Impressive piece of equipment for something done in a hurry. Proves necessity is the mother of invention

[@kylecarmichael5890]

Hopes and dreams and thoughts and prayers, Drach you are a master.

[@WhatIfBrigade]

I saw a replica of one of these Normandy. I always love vehicles made of non-strategic materials (ie wood). It is really a genius way to involve more companies and yet still use less important materials.

[@richardsawyer5428]

Excellent. Cheers Drach. More about craft such as these please. How about a video on the RAF's watercraft?

[@smithpauld1501]

1970: I was a freshly-commissioned and rather lowly USN ensign [hard-chargers went to destroyers] and reported to a 542-class LST at the end of August. By September 3, I was “officer in charge,” (AKA The Ensign) of #1 Papa Boat, circling the ship for defensive purposes as she anchored off Dong Tam on the Mekong River. Oh, yes: LCVPs were in service long after WWII.

[@RickLowrance]

Great subject. I've always been fascinated by Higgins boats. PT Boats too.

[@GrahamWKidd]

Love Saturday night. It really is Drach night!!

[@williamgreen7415]

Thanks!

[@vincentcondron588]

Very nice video of this landing craft perhaps an idea maybe some of the other types of landing craft like lcv/t or others

[@scipioafricanus4328]

Great video, I’ve always been fascinated by landing craft, keep up the good work!

[@18robsmith]

They may be small, but they were perfectly formed for their task

[@QALibrary]

Drac you need to come to Portsmouth and do a video of the Landing Craft Tank that took part in D-Day - Hint it is outside next to the D-Day Museum

[@bobperrine6193]

When I went to Vietnam, we landed in a LCVP in 1966.

[@bebo4807]

My grandmother gave birth to me in a Higgins boat. We used the ramp to plant poultry and fend off vermin.

[@huddunlap3999]

They have one of these at the Nimitz Museum .

[@billyshakespeare17]

At least 2 of these were converted into charter fishing boats on the Delaware Bay (Bowers Beach).

[@ifv2089]

My Dad was a landing Craft engine, he did many beach landings in Korea and was on display in a landing craft at Portsmouth once, I was very sad when he was scraped 😢

[@lewiswestfall2687]

Thanks Drach

[@londomolari5715]

You can find a well restored one at Mott's Military Museum in the Columbus Ohio area.

[@argus1393]

Always informative and well researched.

[@cedhome7945]

That would be a great idea for going on holiday. Load the car or camper van then cruise of to France or Ireland 👍

[@Archie2c]

Thoughts and prayers or hopes and dreams wow.

[@Archie2c]

Armor protection of U.S. servicemen 2 shirts and Skin

[@c2757]

The army I was in was more concerned about having to provide just one type of fuel for i/c engines. That way, no battles would be lost because they had thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and all the kit at that particular battle needed petrol or vice versa - also avoiding things not working because some clot had put petrol in a diesel engine (or vice versa again) - things or people enjoying being set on fire was a minor consideration; we were not meant to be there to enjoy ourselves.

[@davepratt9909]

In training, we landed from one of these. The coxswain commented that they were good boats as long as you didn't land facing a machine gun. When asked what happened then, his response was "I duck and back out. You die."

[@jonathansullivan6706]

Side note, Andrew higgins was born in my home state of Nebraska. One of our state's few links to fame, I suppose. Along with lots of corn. And cows. Fun stuff. I guess Strategic Air Command counts too.....

[@bagoquarks]

A perfect example of inspired innovation coupled with North America's stupendous, un-bombed production capacity solving one of the important combat problems of WW2.

[@lokischildren8714]

A excellent video I hope you do a video in the LCT (landing craft Tank)

[@briantonkin7737]

Have a number of them abandoned in the area, numerous former surplus dumps/ target ranges/ depots nearby

[@patrickwentz8413]

I don't care what you call it. It is a handy way to get an infantry platoon onto a beach. Nice work.

[@JayRock907]

The original Patent for these Higgin's boats was patened on December 7th, 1941. The same day as Pearl Harbor.